The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has recovered the bodies of two overdue boaters on Bass Lake in Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands.
On April 29, 2023, at 11:30 p.m., the Manitoulin Detachment of the OPP, the OPP Marine unit and the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) responded to a request from United Chiefs and Council of Manitoulin Anishnaabe Police Service (UCCM) for assistance in the search for two missing boaters.
A concerned family member called police when the two individuals did not return to the Sheguiandah First Nation boat launch at the prearranged time of 9:00 p.m. They had left the boat launch three hours earlier in a canoe to go fishing. Investigation revealed that neither individual was wearing a flotation device.
One individual was located along the shoreline. The second was located and retrieved by the USRU.
The deceased individuals were identified as a 28-year-old and a 29-year-old, both of Sheguiandah First Nation.
The Office of Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service is assisting, and a post-mortem examination will take place in Sudbury.
